The Agency’s Guide to International Shopify Expansion

nikipantry
Aug 1
3 min read

Why Going Global with Shopify Is the Next Big Move

Global eCommerce is growing fast. According to Statista, cross-border eCommerce will hit $7.9 trillion by 2030, with Shopify sellers increasingly driving that growth.

But expanding internationally isn’t as simple as launching a new domain.

You need to:

Accept multiple currencies and payment methods
Localize content and pricing
Manage fulfillment and shipping
Stay compliant with tax and data regulations

This is where Shopify Markets comes in and where an agency like yours adds massive value.

What Is Shopify Markets?

Shopify Markets is Shopify’s built-in solution for cross-border selling. It allows merchants to:

Sell in multiple currencies
Automatically translate content
Set custom pricing per region
Use localized domains (e.g., .co.uk or de.store.com)
Manage duty and import taxes

For agencies, Shopify Markets is the foundation for a global Shopify strategy that scales.

Shopify Markets Features That Agencies Must Master

1. Currency Conversion (and Control)

Automatically convert prices using Shopify Payments' real-time FX rates
Customize pricing per region using price adjustments or manual overrides
Round prices for psychological pricing (e.g., $9.99 vs $9.73)

Agency Tip: Use manual pricing overrides for key products in competitive markets to stay relevant while maintaining margins.

2. Localized Domains and SEO

Set up custom domains or subfolders for each region
- e.g., store.com/en-au, store.co.uk, store.com/fr
Auto-direct customers to the correct store version based on their IP
Use hreflang tags to ensure proper indexing for each region

Agency Tip: Make sure to localize meta titles and alt tags for SEO. Don’t just translate—transcreate for each region's search behavior.

3. Region-Based Language and Content

Enable Shopify’s built-in language translations or use third-party translation apps
Customize banners, pop-ups, and messages for each region (e.g., local holidays or shipping deadlines)

Agency Tip: For high-growth regions, work with local copywriters to create region-specific landing pages that convert.

4. International Fulfillment & Logistics

Use Shopify’s native delivery profiles to set shipping rates by zone
Enable calculated duties and taxes at checkout for transparency
Integrate with third-party logistics (3PLs) or use Shopify’s fulfillment partners

Agency Tip: Work with fulfillment partners in each key market to reduce shipping times and cart abandonment.

5. Payments and Checkout

Shopify Payments supports local payment methods in many regions (e.g., Bancontact, iDEAL, Klarna)
Checkout can be fully customized on Shopify Plus using checkout extensibility

Agency Tip: Add post-purchase offers tailored to each region (different languages, bundles, or upsells based on region-specific behavior).

When Should a Brand Expand Internationally?

Not every store is ready to go global. Here’s a quick checklist.

You're Ready If...	You're Not Ready If...
You have strong domestic sales	You’re still testing product-market fit
Customers are already ordering from abroad	You struggle with fulfillment even locally
You can support customer service in multiple time zones	You don’t have multilingual capabilities yet

The Agency’s Role in Shopify Expansion

Your agency should offer:

Market research on which regions to prioritize
Shopify Markets setup and testing
Localized design and content strategies
Logistics consultation with 3PLs or fulfillment apps
Multi-region SEO and paid campaign management

Example: Helping a Skincare Brand Go Global with Shopify Markets

Before:

Flat USD pricing for all countries
No translated content
15% of orders came from outside the US, but with high returns

After Our Agency Setup:

Enabled AUD, GBP, and EUR pricing
Added French and German translations
Connected with local 3PLs in UK & EU

Result:→ International revenue grew 62% in 3 months→ Return rate dropped from 18% to 6.5%→ Improved Google rankings in UK & Australia with localized domains

Final Tips for Shopify International Expansion

Start with 1–2 proven regions
Invest in localized SEO + UX
Offer local payment & shipping
A/B test your global content
Monitor performance by region in analytics

Ready to Go Global? We’ll Build the Strategy for You.

At Durant Technologies, we help Shopify merchants expand globally without breaking operations or losing conversions.

Shopify Markets setup
Region-based UX/UI
International SEO & 3PL integration
Ongoing CRO for global regions